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Community advocate alleges use-of-force and biased policing; council says SLED is investigating
Summary
At the council meeting, community advocate Lanika "Shelley" Williams described an April 26 stop in which she says officers used excessive force against her 26-year-old son, outlined racial disparity figures for April stops, and said internal promises of investigation were inconsistent; the city said SLED has been brought in to investigate.
Lanika "Shelley" Williams, a local community advocate and CEO of For the People Advocacy Group and national director of operations for Racial Justice Network, addressed the Florence City Council at its June meeting to describe an April 26 traffic stop involving her 26-year-old son that she says escalated into excessive force and misinformation by officers.
Williams said her son was stopped in their suburban neighborhood for a traffic violation and that officers "dragged and slammed" him. She said officers did not read her son his rights, did not provide their names when requested, and that a supervisor performed poorly. Williams said she was present during the stop, that she was threatened during the encounter, and that she later had to call a third-party officer to clarify events.
"My son was stopped in our suburban neighborhood in his sports car for traffic violation, and that escalated into my son…
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